Cancer
Cardinal water sign, ruled by Moon and pictured as the crab
Cancer is the fourth sign, a cardinal water sign ruled by the Moon and pictured as the crab. It opens summer in the Northern Hemisphere and is the sign of home, family and feeling.
What it stands for
- care
- memory
- home
- protectiveness
What the tradition says
Cancer is described as caring, intuitive and attached to home and family. The crab, hard outside and soft inside, is the usual picture of a sign that protects itself and the people it loves. The Moon, its ruler, ties the sign to moods and memory.
Where it fits
As a cardinal sign, Cancer opens a season in the Northern Hemisphere. Its element, water, is shared with Scorpio and Pisces.
In tarot
The Golden Dawn tradition, which most modern tarot decks follow, links Cancer with The Chariot, Two of Cups, Three of Cups and Four of Cups. The court cards of the suit that shares its element, Cups, are also loosely linked with it.
The dates are the usual tropical ones and shift by a day either way from year to year. People born close to a boundary should look at cusps.
Tarot, astrology and numerology are traditions of symbolism. This page says what the tradition associates with its subject. It does not predict anything and it is not advice.